After a full day of testimony and debate, the fifteen-member UN Security Council unanimously approved a draft resolution on countering human trafficking in conflict zones and assiting victims of trafficking. According to the UN, the resolution condemned all forms of human trafficking in armed conflict and “specifically condemned the sale of, or trade in, persons seized by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), including Yazidis and persons belonging to religious and ethnic minorities, as well as trafficking in persons by Boko Haram, Al-Shabaab, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and other groups for purposes of sexual slavery, and exploitation and forced labour.” Additionally, the resolution noted that, “human trafficking contributed to other forms of transnational organized crime, which could exacerbate conflict and foster insecurity and instability.”
The outgoing Secretary-General, Ban Ki-Moon, spoke at the Security Council session in support of the resolution, calling on member states to implement the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children(Palermo Protocol) and do more to help vulnerable women, children and refugees around the world.
Compiled from: Bryan, Dave, UN Chief: Human trafficking a problem in many conflict zones,The Washington Post and Associated Press (December 20, 2016); Security Council Condemns Human Trafficking in Strongest Terms, Unanimously Adopting Resolution 2331 (2016), UN Meetings Coverage and Press Releases (December 20, 2016).